New Field Test Line Report

Power Pro Line
Innovative Textiles Company
(www.powerpro.com/)
Eight-Pound Test Microbraid Line


I have now entered my fourth year of active comparison- flats fishing with PowerPro and monofilament lines. The test fields were on the flats of Florida, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, and Roatan, Honduras. I've concluded that there are two flats fishing situations where PowerPro has become an absolute mandate, rather than an option.

The first application is flats and shallow water fishing "tight to cover", which involves casting to snook right up against the mangroves. I have already covered the benefits of PowerPro over monofilament as regards a smaller diameter than the latter for the same pound-test, resulting in more line on the reel and better casting potential. PowerPro's non-stretch status gives an angler a vastly enhanced ability to wrestle snook out of structure. Monofilament is simply too stretchy and springy in these applications. Although I have used eight-pound PowerPro in the field testing, I would suggest beginners starting with thirty-pound PowerPro, which has same diameter as eight-pound monofilament. Once the snook or redfish is hooked against the mangroves, use the "short-stroke" fighting style to get them out of the structure.

All it took was one trip to the rock and coral flats of Roatan to convince me PowerPro was the absolute line choice. I hooked numerous permit and ocean tally on these flats and caught very few of them on monofilament, which simply "gave out" and parted if it touched any part of the bottom or reef. PowerPro's makeup gives it an enormously enhanced abrasion resistance over mono. When I spooled up with PowerPro, I was able to land many more permit and ocean tally. In many cases, if the PowerPro wrapped on coral, the line held up until my guide was able to walk over or dive down to lift it off the rocks. This is something that simply would not be possible with mono.

Light tackle flats fishing has been given an enormously enhanced ability with the creation and usage of PowerPro microbraid line. For more discussion by me of PowerPro, go to www.southfloridasportfishing.com/, tips and tales, articles, " The Microbraid Revolution."

Jan Maizler